Cannabis user who murdered four people should die in prison – victims’ families

Joshua Jacques killed his girlfriend Samantha Drummonds and her family in south London in April 2022.

Court sketch of Joshua Jacques appearing in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London (Elizabeth Cook/PA) (PA Wire)

A heavy cannabis abuser who stabbed his girlfriend and three members of her family to death in a frenzied attack should die in prison, bereaved loved ones have said.

Joshua Jacques, 29, was fuelled by drugs and alcohol when he killed Samantha Drummonds and her family in their own home in Bermondsey, south London, early on April 25 last year.

Police found the bodies of Ms Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill’s partner, Denton Burke, 58, after being alerted to a disturbance by a neighbour.

Jacques had left a “bloodbath” in his wake as he attacked the victims with a knife at the terraced home in Delaford Road.

Police officers found Mr Burke’s body at the foot of the stairs and the three women “heaped together” in the kitchen.

Armed officers discovered Jacques naked and lying in the upstairs bathroom in a praying position, screaming “Allah, take me!”, “Kill me now”, “Get rid of me”, and “God please forgive me”.

Later, at Lewisham Hospital, Jacques said: “I ain’t even in the wrong, I did them for sacrifice”, and also warned: “I will do something stupid again.”

He had admitted their manslaughters but denied murder on the basis that he was mentally unwell at the time.

An Old Bailey jury deliberated for two hours to find Jacques, from Minard Road, Lewisham, south-east London, guilty of four counts of murder on Thursday.

The defendant looked down and shook his head in the dock as the jury foreman read out each of the four guilty verdicts.

Mr Justice Bryan adjourned sentencing until February 9 and remanded Jacques into custody.

The judge was invited by the prosecution to consider whether the “exceptional nature” of the multiple killings warranted a whole life sentence.

Speaking outside court, relatives of the victims said a whole life sentence was “only fair” as they condemned Jacques for his lack of remorse.

Tracey-Ann Henry said: “Justice. Justice has been served for my mum, sister, niece and stepdad. So, rest in peace. Finally. Finally.”

She said: “It’s affected me really bad because I lost my mum, sister, niece and stepdad.

“I’m spending my second Christmas without my family. So, that is very going to be very emotional on Christmas Day.”

Mr Burke’s niece Chyloe Daley said the guilty verdict was a “very long time coming”.

She said: “Just the first word that comes is grateful. Sadness, but filled with joy because important things and people and lives were taken from us and, today, we heard what we felt like we’ve waited over a year for.”

She said the family would “hope and pray” that Jacques spends the rest of his life in prison.

Ms Daley added: “It’s up to the judge at the end of the day. But four family members were taken and I just think it is the only thing we can ask for now. I think it’s at that level of seriousness. Yeah, it’s only fair.”

This is one of the most shocking cases our team has worked on, and we worked tirelessly to prove that Jacques was guilty of murder rather than manslaughter, an account we are pleased the jury accepted

Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley

On their lost loved ones, Ms Daley added: “They weren’t just lives that were taken, but they were people and they lived and they were funny, and they were caring and they were giving. That’s how we want to think about them from now on.”

Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley, of Scotland Yard, said: “Jacques carried out four brutal murders, not only killing four completely innocent people, but destroying the lives of those left behind.

“The families have shown immense dignity by coming to court and sitting through a lengthy trial, despite still struggling to come to terms with Jacques’ utterly senseless actions.

“This is one of the most shocking cases our team has worked on, and we worked tirelessly to prove that Jacques was guilty of murder rather than manslaughter, an account we are pleased the jury accepted. The victims and their families remain in our thoughts, and we hope the verdict brings some solace.”

Previously, prosecutor Tom Little KC had said it was a “clear case of murder” and Jacques’ behaviour was down to “self-induced intoxication”.

Jurors were told Jacques had 11 previous convictions for 20 offences, including for cannabis, being in possession of a silver knuckle duster and robbery.

He first had a mental health assessment in April 2016 after seeking hospital treatment for drinking water from a toilet.

He was arrested after he threatened to stab and shoot a security officer, and, while in police custody, threw food around his cell.

He said he had took 3g of skunk cannabis a day and refused to consider cutting down, saying he would carry on smoking marijuana “even if it killed” him.

In 2018, he was detained under the Mental Health Act after he was seen praying in the middle of a busy road in Brixton, south London, and was in hospital from April 27 to around August 7 of that year.

Initially on admission, the impression was of drug-induced mania with psychotic features, jurors were told.

In February 2020, he was jailed for 51 months for conspiring to deal heroin and crack cocaine, and possessing cannabis. He was released on November 11 2021.

In probation reports from April last year, Jacques was described as chatty and engaged.

Three days before the killing, he called his probation officer to say that he had been offered a job at a radio station.

Two days later, Ms Drummonds confided in a friend that she believed Jacques was having an “episode” and had been “chatting all night and was fixated on topics”.

Mr Little told jurors no medical calls were made before the killings nor was Jacques taken to hospital.

Last April 25, Jacques had visited the house where Mr Burke and Ms Hill lived only for the second time.

Ms Ofori-Akuffo, also known as Racquel, sometimes stayed at the property to care for her mother, who was receiving treatment for cancer, while Ms Drummonds had been living there as her own flat was undergoing renovation, Mr Little told jurors.

After Jacques launched his attack, Ms Drummonds called his mother Norma Derrivere but all she was able to say was “Norma he’s sta… sta… ahhh”.

There were also FaceTime calls between Jacques and his mother that evening, and during one, after 2am, he said: “I’m ending it, I’m gonna make a sacrifice.”

Neighbour Alice Canal heard a cat screeching, a male voice swearing, movement, banging and what she believed was someone falling down stairs, which prompted her to call 999 at around 1.42am.

It was claimed on his behalf that Jacques had exhibited manic symptoms consistent with bipolar disorder.

He doubled his skunk cannabis intake from his birthday on April 19 last year – just days before the killings.

However, that escalation came weeks after he began having trouble sleeping which was a symptom of mania, the defence argued.